Pet Friendly, Kid Friendly & New Acts Added to the LI Pet Expo for 2016

LongIsland.com

The Long Island Pet Expo returns for the 7th year at Suffolk Community College, March 4 – March 6, 2016 with NEW Animal Acts!

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The Pet Expo is a ton of fun for the whole family - pets included!

Brentwood, NY - March 1st, 2016 - The Long Island Pet Expo returns for the 7th year at Suffolk Community College, March 4 - March 6, 2016 with NEW Animal Acts! Attendees can expect to be wowed with high-flying dogs, cats doing agility, exotic animals, rainforest reptile show, petting zoo, adoptable pets and many new additional features.

Family Pet Shows has something for everyone at every age! Kids will love this show just as much as adults and pet parents can shop at the vendors with their pets in between watching the fantastic pet acts and visiting the many educational animal and wildlife exhibits. The show is also pet friendly, so pet owners can bring their own leashed and well-behaved pets with them to enjoy the show!

In addition, there are new pet entertaining acts and features added to this years show.  Features this year include:

  • NEW! Johnny Peers, Muttville Comix - Sit! Stay! Get ready to howl! Johnny Peers and his personality-plus canines are coming to tickle your funny bone! Johnny Peers has been working with dogs since he got his first puppy, Freckles, a Beagle mix, from the Humane Society in 1972.

    Since their 1980 debut, the Muttville Comix have appeared on David Letterman, Primetime Live and Circus of the Stars, and at Disneyland, Busch Gardens, the Big Apple Circus, the Royal Hanneford Circus, even The White House!
     
  • NEW! TICA Championship Cat Show – for cat lovers who have never been to a cat show, this is a purrific way to see all different breeds of cats up close!  There will also be a parade of Cat breeds within their show...meow!  This is the first time the Coastal City Cat Club is debuting on Long Island!
     
  • NEW! Rabbit Hopping - it's not the bunny hop you're thinking of - but talented rabbits who love to jump! Yep, think agility for your bunny! Allikatt's Bunnies will present an agility demo of rabbits hopping all weekend - and there is even a seminar so you can learn how to get involved in this sport with your rabbit.
     
  • NEW! Schutzhund Demonstration! Maximum K9 Service will be doing a Schutzhund demonstration which will include obedience, dumbbell retrieval, tracking, protection work and a detection demonstration
     
  • Dancing Dogs – Diana Frohman and her Golden Retrievers will be dancing the weekend away with their Dancing with your Dog performances at the Pet Expo.  It is a wonderful display of communication and relationship between dog and handler, set to music.
     
  • Dachshund Derby Returns! – Weiner race anyone? Due to popular demand the Long Island Dachshund Derby will be back this year both Saturday & Sunday at the expo 12pm to 3pm both days. Pure bred and Doxie mixes are invited to compete in this family friendly event! Competitors will race head-to-head to find out who is the fastest Dachshund on the Island.
     
  • Rainforest Reptile Show – an exciting, fascinating adventure through the rare and endangered reptile world!  Many exotic reptiles will be at the show, including alligators, snakes, lizards, turtles and more!
     
  • Dog Agility – Doggie U K9 Academy will be doing dog agility demos all weekend in the main show ring!
     
  • Adoptable Pets – many local Long Island rescue groups will be there with adoptable pets.  Perfect time to find a furry new friend to add to your family.

The Pet Expo is expected to bring over 12,000 of people throughout the weekend and features pet vendors offering many pet items and supplies for sale, lots of fun, unique and educational entertainment programs, and many pet professionals from right here on Long Island and from around the country.  From Alpaca’s, Alligators, Parrots, dogs and cats to local exotic wildlife found right here on Long Island – the pet expo has it all under one roof!  

“Last year we had over 12,000 people through our doors over the weekend – and we are excited to once again bring new entertainment, educational exhibits, exotic pets, local animal rescue groups and tons of shopping of new pet items for pet parents to learn about,” said show organizer Karen Garetano of Family Pet Shows.  “Long Island is our home and this is one of our biggest expos we host and we make sure that people of all ages will enjoy the show.”

Dennis and Karen Garetano, the show organizers also allow animal rescue groups that are official non-for-profit organizations to have a free space at the event - offering the public information, education on responsible pet ownership and even have adoptable pets on site.  Potential pet owners or those looking to add another pet to their family are encouraged to visit the Adoption Area at the expo as many of LI’s homeless pets will be available for adoption.

Pet Friendly! Attendees are welcome to bring their own pets to enjoy the show, however they must be must leashed, well behaved and up to date on vaccinations and their owners must fill out a waiver upon arrival at the show.  Attendees can also participate with their purebred dogs in the Parade of Breeds taking place on Saturday at 4pm. To participate in the Parade of Breeds attendees can call 631-423-0620 or email Karen to register.

Ticket prices are $12 for adults; $5 for children 12 and under (except Friday night) and kids 3 and under free.  Friday night is ‘Family Night’ where kids 12 and under are admitted for free! For more information about the Long Island Pet Expo go to www.FamilyPetShows.com or call 631-423-0620.  There is also limited vendor space left contact them today for more info.  Any owned pets brought with their owners to the show, must fill out a waiver, and their pets must be leashed, well behaved and up to date on vaccinations.  Owned pets are allowed during all hours of the show!

For press inquiries or an interview with Dennis or Karen Garetano, contact Nancy E. Hassel, or call 631-446-1105.

About Family Pet Shows
Family Pet Shows, formerly known as The Horse and Pet Expo, a family owned and operated company run by Karen and Dennis Garetano and their son Joe Garetano.  In 1994, after years of publishing Horseworld USA magazine, they thought of the idea to host a horse expo in Pennsylvania and held their first show in 1994 Fort Washington, PA. 

After two years of successfully hosting the first horse expo, they expanded the show to include other pets and changed the name to Horse and Pet Expo and began adding new locations. The company now hosts seven different pet expos annually in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania drawing in crowds of thousands of pet lovers to each of their shows.

Karen and Dennis have always been dedicated to making the shows educational, fun, importance of responsible pet ownership, entertaining with talent of various pet and human acts and having many pet vendors and rescue groups. 

They graciously offer free booth space to 501c3 rescue and adoption groups to help save many animal lives.  Unlike some pet shows, the majority of the floor space is devoted to entertainment and educational program presented by their various acts. They strive on making this truly a family and pet friendly pet show in every venue.